Dr. Gupta Goes to Washington

News broke this week that CNN’s Sanjay Gupta is Obama’s pick for Surgeon General, leading to questions about whether a journalist is ready for that role. It's not the first time the position has made headlines. Professor and former Assistant Surgeon General Dr. Fitzhugh Mullan talks about the public campaigns of past Surgeons General and how Gupta might make his mark on the office.

Comments [4]

Terrence Moore
from Silver Spring, MD

Elders didn't just talk about needle exchange, she suggested we investigate the legalization of certain drugs. Likewise, she didn't just talk about masturbation, she specifically said we should consider teaching it to our youth.

It is slanted to leave out those relevant details. It was the White House that specifically said Clinton had too many disagreements with her on a number of issues and this was just one too many.

I've seen Gupta once... following the Hudson river plane crash, he explained the scenarios of extreme hypothermia the passengers would have faced if they had been in the water longer. Unfortunately, he did NOT explain mild hypothermia (or even shock/trauma) which most of the passengers did experience. I hope he isn't always a Dr. Doomsday, but that was just one experience.

I have absolutely no problem with Dr. Gupta taking this position and I don't believe that I have even ever seen or heard him on air. (92-year old Mom insists on watching Charlie on ABC.) We need good communicators in this position and, apparently, he's already been involved in crafting policy in that previous, so-called Democratic administration. (Never was that big of a fan of his policies.)

I am still angry that the Republicans were able to silence Dr. Elders and that Bill threw her under the bus.

You mentioned Dr. Koop's efforts regarding dealing with the AIDS outbreak. He is also notable for his support of the Clintons' efforts on Healthcare reform and, before that, under the Reagan admin. successfully going against powerful lobbies and politicians on tobacco use. It's inspiring when a surgeon general keeps slugging it out for the greater good. Your story makes me hopeful that Dr. Gupta will be doing more of that.